@article {779, title = {Bi-allelic ADARB1 Variants Associated with Microcephaly, Intellectual Disability, and Seizures.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {106}, year = {2020}, month = {2020 04 02}, pages = {467-483}, abstract = {

The RNA editing enzyme ADAR2 is essential for the recoding of brain transcripts. Impaired ADAR2 editing leads to early-onset epilepsy and premature death in a mouse model. Here, we report bi-allelic variants in ADARB1, the gene encoding ADAR2, in four unrelated individuals with microcephaly, intellectual disability, and epilepsy. In one individual, a homozygous variant in one of the double-stranded RNA-binding domains (dsRBDs) was identified. In the others, variants were situated in or around the deaminase domain. To evaluate the effects of these variants on ADAR2 enzymatic activity, we performed in~vitro assays with recombinant proteins in HEK293T cells and ex~vivo assays with fibroblasts derived from one of the individuals. We demonstrate that these ADAR2 variants lead to reduced editing activity on a known ADAR2 substrate. We also demonstrate that one variant leads to changes in splicing of ADARB1 transcript isoforms. These findings reinforce the importance of RNA editing in brain development and introduce ADARB1 as a genetic etiology in individuals with intellectual disability, microcephaly, and epilepsy.

}, keywords = {Adenosine Deaminase, Alleles, Alternative Splicing, Child, Child, Preschool, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Variation, HEK293 Cells, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Male, Microcephaly, RNA Splicing, RNA-Binding Proteins, Seizures}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.02.015}, author = {Tan, Tiong Yang and Sedm{\'\i}k, Ji{\v r}{\'\i} and Fitzgerald, Mark P and Halevy, Rivka Sukenik and Keegan, Liam P and Helbig, Ingo and Basel-Salmon, Lina and Cohen, Lior and Straussberg, Rachel and Chung, Wendy K and Helal, Mayada and Maroofian, Reza and Houlden, Henry and Juusola, Jane and Sadedin, Simon and Pais, Lynn and Howell, Katherine B and White, Susan M and Christodoulou, John and O{\textquoteright}Connell, Mary A} } @article {573, title = {Biallelic VARS variants cause developmental encephalopathy with microcephaly that is recapitulated in vars knockout zebrafish.}, journal = {Nat Commun}, volume = {10}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 02 12}, pages = {708}, abstract = {

Aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (ARSs) link specific amino acids with their cognate transfer RNAs in a critical early step of protein translation. Mutations in ARSs have emerged as a cause of recessive, often complex neurological disease traits. Here we report an allelic series consisting of seven novel and two previously reported biallelic variants in valyl-tRNA synthetase (VARS) in ten patients with a developmental encephalopathy with microcephaly, often associated with early-onset epilepsy. In silico, in vitro, and yeast complementation assays demonstrate that the underlying pathomechanism of these mutations is most likely a loss of protein function. Zebrafish modeling accurately recapitulated some of the key neurological disease traits. These results provide both genetic and biological insights into neurodevelopmental disease and pave the way for further in-depth research on ARS related recessive disorders and precision therapies.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Animals, Brain Diseases, Cell Line, Disease Models, Animal, Epilepsy, Female, Fibroblasts, Gene Knockout Techniques, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Loss of Function Mutation, Male, Microcephaly, Models, Molecular, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Pedigree, Prosencephalon, Valine-tRNA Ligase, Zebrafish}, issn = {2041-1723}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-07953-w}, author = {Siekierska, Aleksandra and Stamberger, Hannah and Deconinck, Tine and Oprescu, Stephanie N and Partoens, Mich{\`e}le and Zhang, Yifan and Sourbron, Jo and Adriaenssens, Elias and Mullen, Patrick and Wiencek, Patrick and Hardies, Katia and Lee, Jeong-Soo and Giong, Hoi-Khoanh and Distelmaier, Felix and Elpeleg, Orly and Helbig, Katherine L and Hersh, Joseph and Isikay, Sedat and Jordan, Elizabeth and Karaca, Ender and Kecskes, Angela and Lupski, James R and Kovacs-Nagy, Reka and May, Patrick and Narayanan, Vinodh and Pendziwiat, Manuela and Ramsey, Keri and Rangasamy, Sampathkumar and Shinde, Deepali N and Spiegel, Ronen and Timmerman, Vincent and von Spiczak, Sarah and Helbig, Ingo and Weckhuysen, Sarah and Francklyn, Christopher and Antonellis, Anthony and de Witte, Peter and De Jonghe, Peter} } @article {678, title = {Heterozygous Variants in KMT2E Cause a Spectrum of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Epilepsy.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {104}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Jun 06}, pages = {1210-1222}, abstract = {

We delineate a KMT2E-related neurodevelopmental disorder on the basis of 38 individuals in 36 families. This study includes 31 distinct heterozygous variants in KMT2E (28 ascertained from Matchmaker Exchange and three previously reported), and four individuals with chromosome 7q22.2-22.23 microdeletions encompassing KMT2E (one previously reported). Almost all variants occurred de novo, and most were truncating. Most affected individuals with protein-truncating variants presented with mild intellectual disability. One-quarter of individuals met criteria for autism. Additional common features include macrocephaly, hypotonia, functional gastrointestinal abnormalities, and a subtle facial gestalt. Epilepsy was present in about one-fifth of individuals with truncating variants and was responsive to treatment with anti-epileptic medications in almost all. More than 70\% of the individuals were male, and expressivity was variable by sex; epilepsy was more common in females and autism more common in males. The four individuals with microdeletions encompassing KMT2E generally presented similarly to those with truncating variants, but the degree of developmental delay was greater. The group of four individuals with missense variants in KMT2E presented with the most severe developmental delays. Epilepsy was present in all individuals with missense variants, often manifesting as treatment-resistant infantile epileptic encephalopathy. Microcephaly was also common in this group. Haploinsufficiency versus gain-of-function or dominant-negative effects specific to these missense variants in KMT2E might explain this divergence in phenotype, but requires independent validation. Disruptive variants in KMT2E are an under-recognized cause of neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.03.021}, author = {O{\textquoteright}Donnell-Luria, Anne H and Pais, Lynn S and Faundes, V{\'\i}ctor and Wood, Jordan C and Sveden, Abigail and Luria, Victor and Abou Jamra, Rami and Accogli, Andrea and Amburgey, Kimberly and Anderlid, Britt Marie and Azzarello-Burri, Silvia and Basinger, Alice A and Bianchini, Claudia and Bird, Lynne M and Buchert, Rebecca and Carr{\'e}, Wilfrid and Ceulemans, Sophia and Charles, Perrine and Cox, Helen and Culliton, Lisa and Curr{\`o}, Aurora and Demurger, Florence and Dowling, James J and Duban-Bedu, Benedicte and Dubourg, Christ{\`e}le and Eiset, Saga Elise and Escobar, Luis F and Ferrarini, Alessandra and Haack, Tobias B and Hashim, Mona and Heide, Solveig and Helbig, Katherine L and Helbig, Ingo and Heredia, Raul and H{\'e}ron, Delphine and Isidor, Bertrand and Jonasson, Amy R and Joset, Pascal and Keren, Boris and Kok, Fernando and Kroes, Hester Y and Lavillaureix, Alino{\"e} and Lu, Xin and Maas, Saskia M and Maegawa, Gustavo H B and Marcelis, Carlo L M and Mark, Paul R and Masruha, Marcelo R and McLaughlin, Heather M and McWalter, Kirsty and Melchinger, Esther U and Mercimek-Andrews, Saadet and Nava, Caroline and Pendziwiat, Manuela and Person, Richard and Ramelli, Gian Paolo and Ramos, Luiza L P and Rauch, Anita and Reavey, Caitlin and Renieri, Alessandra and Rie{\ss}, Angelika and Sanchez-Valle, Amarilis and Sattar, Shifteh and Saunders, Carol and Schwarz, Niklas and Smol, Thomas and Srour, Myriam and Steindl, Katharina and Syrbe, Steffen and Taylor, Jenny C and Telegrafi, Aida and Thiffault, Isabelle and Trauner, Doris A and van der Linden, Helio and van Koningsbruggen, Silvana and Villard, Laurent and Vogel, Ida and Vogt, Julie and Weber, Yvonne G and Wentzensen, Ingrid M and Widjaja, Elysa and Zak, Jaroslav and Baxter, Samantha and Banka, Siddharth and Rodan, Lance H} }